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Thursday, 19 April 2007

Smiles from the 100 Aker Wood

It was really very nice of my husband, who took the trouble to get these cookie cutters for me, during his recent business trip to Tokyo. Several months ago, when I found out that these cutters are available at Tokyu Hands, I told him casually that he could get them for me if he happens to be in Japan.

Despite his busy schedule, hours just before his return flight, he took a half-an-hour train ride to Shibuya just to see whether he could find these. It was a fruitful trip for him, as not only did he managed to find them, he also got to taste his favourite Hokkaido Ramen at Shibuya.

Naturally, I couldn't wait but to try out these cutters once I found some free time. I adapted a recipe from this blogger, as she used the same type of cutters. To my surprise, the cutters were rather difficult to use. It was only after several attempts before I could cut out the shapes neatly...the dough kept sticking to the mold...the piece which is used to "stamp" the outline of Pooh...everytime I released it, the dough broke into pieces :'(

After "practising" for a few times, I finally got the hang of it...the trick is not to press the mold too hard into the dough. I also find the dough very soft and sticky. Even though I have floured the cutters and my table top, tt was quite tricky to lift up the cut-out shape from my table top without spoiling it. This only became easier after I "sandwiched" and rolled the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper. This prevented the dough from sticking onto the work surface and the rolling pin as well. After much hard work, the result was a tray of smiling Poohs and Piglets!

A closer look at Pooh...

and here's Piglet!

These cookies were buttery...and a little crunchy, could be the extra cornflour which I have added. It was a joy just looking at how my boys happily munching away the cookies over their afternoon teabreaks...and the cookies were all gone within 2 days!

Sift cake flour and corn flour together and set aside. Line baking tray with parchment paper, set aside.

With an electric mixer, add in sugar to the butter in 2 ~3 additions and cream till the mixture turns pale and fluffy.

Add in egg yolk and mix well.

Add sifted flour mixture in 2 ~ 3 additions, stir with a spatula to form a soft dough.

Place dough in a plastic bag and flatten with rolling pin.

Refrigerate the dough for about half an hour.

Remove dough from fridge. Roll out dough on slightly floured work surface and cut out with slightly floured cookie cutters. If the dough appears to be a little to hard and breaks into pieces while rolling, leave it at room temperature for a few minutes. The dough will soften up and can be rolled easily.

Oh they are extremely cute! Can I have one piece :)? I like that the imprint is so clear and thanks so much for sharing the recipe and the tips, you just make me wanna try out my HK cutters too! I can see that you dun just only prepare and bake but have add in so much love and patience in each pc of your bake!

Hi Elyn, I can't wait to see your Kitty cookies! Do take note that the cutters are not that easy to use...I can't really describe how to go about it...hmmm...I think you got to practice a few times to get the hang of it ;)

Hi Happy Baker,I really loved your Pooh and Piglet cookies.There are so cute .I write your from Turkey.Itried the site Tokyo Hands however there is no english version.Do you know where can I find these cutters in Europe.Your reply willbe highly appreciated.Najda

Hi Sweet-tooth, I have problem with piglet's ears too! Dont fret, I am sure you will get the hang of it on your next attempt! I only managed a better batch on my 2nd & 3rd attempt. Are you only in Sec 2?!! Your parents must be so proud of you!!!

Hi,I've tried using this recipe to make the cookies too however i found the cookie not cruchy & hard, I've measured the flour correctly, could it be due to the flour i used? I used plain flour.Appreciate for yr advise. Thanks

Hi Wish, I am sorry to hear that your cookies didn't turn out well. I didn't have problem with this recipe as I used cake flour. Did you add in the corn flour as well? I do believe that the corn flour will give cookies a crunchy texture. Were your cookies very soft? it could be due to the oven temperature...you may have under bake them?

Thanks for your comments :)I am afraid I have not tried making these cookies in chocolate flavour. As such I wont be able to advise on the amount of cocoa powder use...maybe you can refer to other chocolate cookie recipes to get an idea on how much to use? As for when to add in the cocoa powder, I would think it should be sieved together with the flour, and add in after the creaming. Do take note that you would have to reduce equal amount of flour so that the total amount of cocoa and flour mixture should be around 200g. Hope this helps.

i'm itching to try out ur recipe to make cookies as a gift to a special person. but i still have some self-raising flour left after my last attempt at baking some cupcakes. so, i would like to reuse them and not waste it.

but, i'm not very sure whether self-raising flour is the same as cake flour. will it turn out the same way if i used self-raising flour instead?

Hi! Thanks for your recipe. Bought these cutters from HK but found them selling at Isetan. Isetan also sells the cookie bags as well. Anyway, an additional tip, for a creamy flavour, should add some vanilla essence. Sam.

Hi. I have been following your thread since 2 months ago. Really love your recpies. Tried making e cookies last night (my 2nd attempt) but dont know why it turn out very dry? Could it be a left it in the fridge too long (abt 45 mins)? or i didnt cream e butter and sugar enough?

Hi, thanks for your comments :)I dont think it's because u left the dough in the fridge for too long...as the dough will start to soften up when u roll and cut out the shapes of the cookies. I am no expert in baking, as I have not attended any baking classes...as such, I can only suspect it could be due to over baking...as over baking tends to dry out cakes, but I am not sure about cookies though...sorry, I am not of much help here :(

sorry about the confusion. i meant that the dough turn out very dry and keeps breaking when i tried with the cutter....even though i left it at room temp for quite some time...didnt know what went wrong? can enlighten me? thanks.

Hi, yes, the dough is quite difficult to handle...it's quite fragile and breaks easily. You should work on it immediately when u take out from the fridge...as I believe it is easier when it is cold. also, try not to shape/reshape (roll/re-roll)...hope u know what I mean?...the dough too much, u will end up with very hard biscuits.

Hi there HHB,I tried out your recipe the other day. It was too 'wet' for my to handle after taking out from the fridge, thus I add some more flour. Thinking of it would turn out to be as hard as rock after baking, but it didn't. My kids love it. Thanks for sharing this recipe.Rgds

This is so cute! Thanks for sharing your recipes! You're really lucky that your husband bought these cookie cutters for you specially from japan! :D May i ask if you know of anywhere in singapore that sells similar or pretty cookie cutters?

Hi Shoppp:D, I have seen these Pooh cutters at the kitchen supply section at Takashimaya. Look for the section where they display knives, laddles, etc. I have also seen them at BHG, the department store at Bugis Junction. Hope you can find the ones you like.

also, a trick on the buttery dough (and I hope this will help). Roll the dough out & chill it in the freezer for about 20 - 30 min. It will be a kind of freezen but shouldn't be too hard. This will be enable an easier cutting & transfer. Just let the dough come back to the room temp before baking. Also, if you place the rolled dough onto a cookie sheet & press the cutter, you can just pick away the excess dough & left w/ beautiful cutouts that you don't have to transfer!

I really like yr blog bcos u r so unpretentious. You not afraid to showyr baking attempts.

And you do so much research on browniesand share with everyone. I finally understand what is fudgy brownies. I baked the one with the chocolate n choco chips and my teen gal n her teen fren seems to like it so much lol....

I will next attempt the layer peach cake but mine will be with mango bcos my gal loves mango.

hi there. love your blog! i've tried your horlick doggies and strawberry jellyhearts and both turned out splendid. Thanks for the recipe! hmmm for this cookie, i've got one qsn.. is top flour same as cake flour? i've got some top flour left from baking the holick doggies and wonder if i could use them instead. =)

Hi Xueer, Top flour is different from cake flour...you can take a look at Prima flour's website for details. However, there is no harm using top flour to make these cookies. Caster sugar is very fine, you can get it from most supermarts, the packaging will state that it is Caster sugar. Most recipes will use caster sugar as it is easier to melt when creaming with butter.

Hello HHB,I've tried using this recipe to make the cookies too however i found the cookie not buttery as you mentioned):I've put extra 10g to cake & corn flour! Hmm, can i know which brand of butter do you? ( I used SCS butter) Thank alot !

Hello HHB,Im the same person from thhe last anonymous! Hmm, i think it could be the extra flours i added because after the cookies is baked the surface have flour? Hope this is the main reason! Thank alot & i love your recipes and blog:D

Hi HHBI tried this recipe on Saturday but the dough is dry and cracked even before I freeze it. Due to the dryness, I couldn't cut out a proper mickey mouse :(, so i just use the normal heart, star, flower cookies cutters. Despite the difficult dough, the biscuits are yummy and the kids love it. I will try again soon...

Hi HHBYou are right, the dough is soft. I tried again yesterday and I know the reason for the dry dough at the first attempt. It wasn't too much flour added, it was because I was impatient to soften the butter first, I added cold butter to cream :pNext time, I will make sure I follow recipes to the dot.....Every word there has a purpose!

Hi, icing sugar is different from caster sugar. Icing sugar is very fine, like powder. For this recipe, please use caster sugar, as you need to cream the butter with caster sugar to get the desired texture.

Hi Reira, what you can do is, first roll out the dough then leave it to chill in the fridge for 15-30mins. Take it out and cut out the shape, this way the dough will not fall apart easily. Dust the cutter with flour each time you cut the shape. I don't have problem transferring baked cookies to cool. I usually use my fingers ;) Maybe you can leave the cookies to cool on the tray for about 5 mins (cookies are still soft when first out of the oven), then transfer it to the rack using those metal cake slicer. Hope this helps.

Hi rainbowzstarz, you can beat the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon or a manual whisk. Cut the butter into small cubes which makes it easier to beat. Do google, read, watch demo video clips on how to beat butter and sugar especially if this is the first time you are baking. Happy baking!

Hi Mary, I dont think it is due to the flour. Cake flour will yield a finer texture, but plain flour won't cause the cookies to turn out hard. Not sure what went wrong, it could be either due to the ingredient amount, did u measure the amount correctly? or it could be due to the creaming of the butter and sugar?